Steps to Apply

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What is Success Pays?

Success Pays is a way to assist healthcare professionals in achieving certification while eliminating test-taking anxiety and financial barriers. Clinicians are given two opportunities to test for a certification specialty and your healthcare organization only pays for those who pass.

Applicants must first meet eligibility requirements and then can apply for any of the following certifications. This includes certification by exam, certification renewal, and the retired certified nurse recognition program.

Your healthcare organization contracts to provide the required number of eligible clinicians to pursue certification by exam. There is no minimum or maximum number for certification renewals.

ANCC assigns your hospital a unique code, which you distribute to your clinicians.

Individual clinicians use the code in place of traditional payment methods. No other discounts may be used.

The individual clinicians takes the test or completes the renewal requirements.

When a nurse passes, a fee for the exam or renewal appears on a monthly invoice to your hospital.

If a nurse fails the first time, one retest is available at no additional cost.

If a nurse fails the retest your hospital is not charged.

Your organization increases its number of board-certified nurses, with no financial risk!

Why Certify?

Certification is a process, often voluntary, by which a nongovernmental agency or association grants a time-limited recognition and use of a credential to individuals who have demonstrated the knowledge and skills and have met predetermined and standardized criteria required in the profession/role. Its purpose is to assure various publics that an individual has mastered a body of knowledge and acquired skills in a particular specialty. ANCC certification Meets and exceed nationally recognized standards of proficiency and professionalism, and represents:

A validation of expertise, knowledge and abilities in your specialty beyond licensure through a rigorous national examination.

Nurses that feel empowered within their work environments and are recognized for their knowledge and contributions are more likely to remain with their organizations -- which may contribute to increased retention of the nursing workforce. (Wade,C. 2009, Perceived effects of specialty nurse certification: a review of the literature, AORN Journal, 89(1) Retrieved from PubMed)

Barriers to individuals getting certified include limited rewards in terms of salary and professional advancement, costs of certification, time constraints, and fear of failure (Ciurzynski & Serwetnyk, 2015, Increasing nurse certification rates using a multimodal approach, The Journal of Nursing Administration 45(4), 226-233. doi: 10.1097/NNA.0000000000000189)

Shortfall fee is the amount difference between what you would have paid ANCC had you met your minimum order obligations and the total payments actually received. For example, if at the end of the year’s contract the minimum requirement of 20 eligible nurses was not met, i.e. only 18 applied, made eligible/tested, there will be a $580 shortfall fee incurred (20-18=2 x $290).

ANCC sends an invoice and summary report of all the certification activities associated with the account (i.e., candidates who have submitted initial applications and those certified) to the primary contact person every month.

A primary contact person is necessary for effective dissemination of information and to protect confidentiality of the account information. This also helps with the efficient processing of customer issues, invoice/payments, etc. Any changes in the primary contact person changes will require completion of a Change In Primary Contact Information Form.

Steps to Apply

A unique discount code specific to your organization is assigned once an agreement is approved and made effective. When registering for the exam, applicants will use this code to associate their initial certification application with the designated Success Pays account. Clinicians will need to:

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